TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES

Keeping things cerebral, we have the game which some consider to be Reiner Knizia’s masterpiece; Tigris and Euphrates. Set in Ancient Mesopotamia, one of the first settled regions in the world, this strategy game for 2-4 players sees you building up the first civilizations, laying out tiles representing farms, temples, markets and settlements. The objective is to play out tiles to form kingdoms, then play leaders near said kingdoms to gain victory points. However, if a kingdom ever has two matching leaders from different players (e.g. two kings) or two kingdoms combine, conflict breaks out, with players able to spend tiles from their hidden area to oust their opponents, squashing their plans for VP conquest.

The sweetest rule though is how victory is determined by the lowest number of VPs in any type that you have, ensuring players must be flexible and cannot afford to dominate one of the four types as it’ll mean very little when it comes to working out who’s won. It ensures conflicts don’t feel as back breaking as they do in other strategy games, as you have to react to opportunities across the entire map instead of singling out a kingdom as your personal point producer.

The brain scratching genius of this game has survived the decades well, remaining in BGG’s top 100 games since the BGG top 100 list began. Knizia may be responsible for many beloved games over the years, but it’s hard to deny the impressive simplicity yet thought provoking classic.